Monday, June 29, 2009

Cabin time!

After a day of boating with my side, we headed up to the Nelson family cabin. It's so much fun to go up there and relax in a beautiful cabin in the mountains. We had good food, fun games, and a great time fishing, although there were no fish to be found!




Sunny Days!


Steff and I went for a run to practice for a 5K we're running over the 4th of July! I know, she has better arms, but we're working on it!

My mom was in town this weekend for a wedding and Saturday was the perfect day to head out on the lake! My uncle Michael and Aunt Yvett brought their two boys and met us at the lake. It was so much fun. Jordan and Cameron popped right up on the wakeboard and Michael could not be out done. Everyone was pretty impressive!
My uncle Robert made this ski for Camryn and Brooklyn the summer before he died! Nic made a few minor changes and he determined to get them up on the skis! Camryn decided to give it a trial run before she fully committed!
Brooklyn did amazing! My favorite part was when she told Nic "Daddy, I'm ready to hop on the ski now!" And she wanted to do it over and over!
Isn't she so hot? My mom's not bad either! jk
A proud papa, the ski says "Riding for Robert"
My congratulatory (sp?) hug for wakeboarding
This was pre-boarding
This is me, Camryn, and Brooklyn, making Princess sugar cookies!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Camping


So about a month ago I decided that we needed to plan a camping trip with some of our friends.
I really enjoy camping, as long as it's only for a night or two. So we made a plan to go up Hobble Creek canyon. Celina came over the night before and we made our tin foil dinners, which we were pretty proud of. We cooked the chicken the night before, then put pineapple, peppers, onions and then a teriyaki marinade over the top. Anyway we got our selves ready to go and drove up the canyon. After about 45 min we got to where we were planning on camping and some one was already there. Poor planning on our part. So we kept trudging up the mountain. We finally found a place and it felt like we were literally on top of the world. It was beautiful, but windy and cold. Moose didn't really know what to think about the whole thing. When we woke up in the morning it was still windy and at about 8:30 it started pouring rain, so we were out of there by 9. It may be awhile before we decide to do it again.
Moose was so cold that he had to wear my sweatshirt. I think he liked it!
He loved Sarah and Joe!
Just in case you didn't believe me about the wind this is Celina, me, Morgan and Caitlyn
Yes, Ryan wears a head lamp!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

A Father's Day Fairy Tale


Once upon a time in a far away land on the night of April 28 a little boy was born. On that same night something strange happened, a semi carrying goats crashed and all the goats got away. One curious and magical goat snuck into the nearby hospital and made his way into the little boys room. He walked over to the little babies bed and whispered a spell in his ear. He told the little boy that if he would lead a good and service filled life, he would receive super human magical powers.
As the little boy grew he remembered what the goat had told him and always tried to do what was right. When the little boy grew into a man he married the most beautiful maiden in the land. He went to the goat to tell him thank you for his beautiful wife and the goat said " My boy if you continue to do what is right I will give you exceptional brain power, and you will go on to be a great Accountant" The man thought this sounded too good to be true, an accountant?!That would be magical. The man and the beautiful woman went on to have two sons, one with the coloring of the man and one with the coloring of the maiden. And they were happy, for a while, but soon the man started to feel a sadness and a void in his heart, so he went to see the goat and said "Goat, I have done what is right, I have been kind and giving, but I feel my life won't be complete until I have a beautiful daughter" and the goat replied " My boy, you have been good and kind and if you continue I will give you a daughter"
Nine months later the maiden gave birth to a baby girl, not just any baby girl, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL baby girl that anyone in all the land had ever seen! People came from long and far came to see this blonde haired blue eyed beauty. Now the man felt the goat had gone above and beyond , so he went to thank the goat and vowed that he would dedicate his life to service in honor of the goat's kindness.
" In return" said the goat "I will give you magical powers to help you, your first power is a charming smile, so everyone who meets you will like you! I will give you the power to be a hard worker and the knowledge of manual labor so you can do things like lay tile, put down hard wood floors and pour cement for driveways! I will also give you a good strong business mind so you can do something like.....own and operate a laundromat"
And the man went and did many great things to the honor the goat for giving him such a beautiful and wonderful daughter. He started a youth soccer program in an Appalacian town. He invited 2 young men into his home every Sunday for dinner who were also from a far away land. He started working as an accountant for a company who helps and protects the elderly.
All the super powers the goat gave him came in handy. Everyone he ever met liked him due to the charming smile. He was able to lay tile and pour cement for the driveway in his new home and in the homes of many of his friends. He even bought his very own laundromat!
He went back to the goat to pay his respects and the goat replied " My boy, I am pleased with you, you have done very good! I will now give you more magical gifts! My first is selective hearing, this will protect you from hearing things you don't want to hear. I will also give you the gift of great leadership and superior popcorn making skills"
And the man went on and did many great things. He gave a less fortunate family a car, and dressed up as Santa and delivered presents to children who had none. He became the bishop of his church, and mastered the art of popcorn making, which he practiced every Sunday. He also mastered his selective hearing, which got him out of many chores that would waste his precious time, and assignments at work!
Years went by and the man's oldest son got married and they were expecting twins. The man and maiden were extatic but the man had a few life altering questions he needed to ask the goat.
"Goat" he asked "what shall my grandchildren call me and my beautiful maiden?"
"Good question my boy, you and your maiden need a special name to set you apart from all the other grandparents. And they shall call you, Gangy and PopPop!" the goat said, rather proud of himself
"No!" shouted the man "We need to be taken seriously, this is what we will be known as for generations!"
" Fine, the names you shall be known as are Nana and Papa! And for all the good you have done I will give you one final magical power, you will the worlds best dad and Papa!" The man was satisfied and thanked the goat for his insight and new magical power and he went home to live his service filled life.
And the goats last power came true! He was the worlds best dad and Papa! A few years later the man heard that the goat had died. He went to the grave of the goat and found a note for him, written on the front said " My final request for you"
The man vowed that he would do what ever the goat requested was for he had given him so much his entire life, he opened up the envelope and it said

" My boy I have one final request from you and if you do this everything you wish for in life will be yours.......In your will.....leave everything to the best thing I ever gave you..your beautiful daughter!"
And he did , and he lived happily ever after!


Some of the events in this story have been dramatized, they do however answer soo many questions about how my dad became so super human! I love you dad! Happy Fathers day!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Provo Canyon




The other day I went for a run, and not just any run, the Perfect run! It was just one of those days when all conditions lined up perfectly in a row! The weather was beautiful, sun shining, and a slight breeze. I had the perfect play list, the beat of every song matched perfect with every step! I ran down Provo canyon along the river past Bridal Veil Falls and ended at the mouth of the canyon. No side cramps, no shin splints, and I had the perfect running partner, my husband! I love taking runs with Ryan. He pushes me to go longer, faster, and sometimes he even lets me win! It was the perfect distance for a good run, 6 miles, not to long that it makes my bones, and muscles hurt, but long enough to make me feel strong! Running calms me, it's when I get my best ideas, there is nothing I love more than a good hard run on a sunny day. Well there are a couple things......(get your mind out of the gutter, I meant like warm chocolate chip cookies, or an ice cold diet coke)!

Provo Canyon is one of my favorite places in this state and we decided on Sunday Moose needed to experience Bridal Veil Falls. His only problem is he is such a little social butterfly that we couldn't really accomplish much because he needed to inspect every person, dog, floating piece of cotton, puddle, and leaf along the way! We just needed to prep him for the outdoors because this weekend Moose the Dog is going on his first camping trip!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Happy Birthday Camryn and Brooklyn!





Last Friday my little baby girlies turned 3! I can't believe how fast it has gone by! So Friday night Ryan and I headed up to Nic and Steff's for a bbq and cake! We had a lot of fun and C & B were a hoot as always!
The next morning I got a call from Nic and he said that when Camryn and Brooklyn woke up they said they needed to call me because they didn't tell me thank you for the presents. So they got on the phone and told me thank you and they loved their princess dresses! So cute!



And this is an update on how big my baby is getting! I must say, he is not fat! He is fit! It makes Ryan mad because people always think he is a boxer bc he's not fat! So Ryan thinks we need to fatten him up so people know he's a bulldog!

I will say, in this picture he does kind of look fat, but don't be fooled, the camera adds 10 lbs!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Viva Las Vegas!!


I went with my some of my best friends down to Vegas for a long weekend. My friend Carole Ann who moved to Nashville a year and a half ago was able to fly in and we met up with our friend April who moved back to Vegas a couple years ago. We went to see the Lion King which was absolutely magical. I could not believe or even begin to describe how incredible the costumes, singing, dancing, and acting was. We were also able to go to Bobby Flay's restaurant "Mesa Grill" which is some of the best food I've ever had.

This was at Serendipity where we had frozen hot chocolates, which were incredible! It was fun to go there after hearing so much about the one in New York!
April, Kristen, me, Carole Ann, Celina, and Lindsey

We also spend a lot of time at the pool



We found a place called Yogurtland which was a self serve yogurt bar with about 20 flavors of frozen yogurt and then 50 different kinds of topping you could put on it. It was hard to walk away with out one spoonful of everything.

I have some of the best friends in the world and ones that I know I will have forever! Thanks guys it was so much fun!